Bootle Town Hall
Since child A’s death, the council has lowered the threshold before it takes “statutory action”. Sefton’s social workers are also carrying out four-weekly case reviews for those involving Child Protection Plans. More staff have also been brought in to bolster the Children’s Social Care department.
A new early warning system has been introduced and extra care places have been made for vulnerable children.
But Cllr Richard Hands, chair of the children’s services overview and scrutiny committee that discussed the report last week, is calling for greater transparency in publishing serious case reviews.
He said: “We want to make sure that the reporting process is open and transparent. God forbid, if we have another serious case like this, we believe that the leadership and the cabinet member on that side should know about it in future.
“I would hope that, in future, executive summaries of reports like this will be far more open and published. But we have to be careful because it’s traumatic for the families concerned.”
